June 2016

Gambia: African migrants are returning from China and telling their compatriots not to go

When Lamin Ceesay, an energetic 25-year-old from Gambia, arrived in China last year, he thought his life had made a turn for the better. As the oldest of four siblings, he was responsible for caring for his family, especially after his father passed away. But jobs were few in his hometown of Tallinding Kunjang, outside of the Gambian capital of Banjul. After hearing about China’s rise, his uncle sold off his taxi business and the two of them bought a ticket and a paid local visa dealer to get them to China. (Read more)

France urges more cooperation with Africa on migration

The European Union needs to work more with African countries to tackle migration flows into the continent, France‘s prime minister said in an interview with a Greek newspaper on Thursday. The EU, which struck a deal with Turkey to stem the arrival of undocumented migrants and refugees to Greece, has been scrambling for ways to shut down flows on the other major sea route into the continent from Libya as calmer weather begins.”We need to cooperate further with African countries of transit or of origin,” Manuel Valls told Kathimerini ahead of a two-day visit to Greece on Thursday. “I am referring in particular to Niger,” he said. (Read more)

Crisis and climate change driving unprecedented migration

William Lacy Swing, Director General of IOM, spoke with IPS correspondent Manipadma Jena at the second UN Environmental Assembly May 23-27 in Nairobi where 174 countries focused on environmental implementation of the work that would achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). (Read more)

Labour supply outstrips demand in ECOWAS region

A study conducted on; “Facilitating Intra Regional Labour Migration in ECOWAS,” has revealed wide gaps between the demand for labour and supply, with supply outstripping demand in the region.(Read more)

Ecowas to introduce common W/African ID card, remove residence permit

The West African regional bloc, Ecowas, is to introduce acommon biometric identity card for all the 15 countries which make up the bloc. It is also to remove the payment of residence permit for nationals of one country in another within Ecowas.(Read more)

The European Union has presented a new framework of aid support to ease the flow of African refugees and migrants to the EU. The European Commission in partnership with nine countries in the Middle East and Africa including Jordan, Libya and Nigeria want to tackle the influx of African migrants and refugees through an aid that amounts to 62 billion euros. (Read more)

Europe’s best hope to curb migrants from Africa

When a citizen in Ghana gives a thumbs up to a politician, it doesn’t mean “OK” or “good job.” It means “I’m watching how you govern.” The gesture derives from the ink put on voters’ thumbs after they cast a ballot in an election. As one of the few countries in Africa with a healthy democracy, Ghanaians use their thumbs year-round to hold their leaders accountable. This bit of political trivia is important in light of the wave of Africans fleeing to Europe, many of them perishing in boats on the Mediterranean Sea. An estimated half-million Africans are waiting in Libya to make the dangerous crossing. The European Union is scrambling to solve this crisis, and the one solution with the most staying power is to improve governance and prosperity in those African countries sending the most migrants.(Read more)

The Child Migrants of Africa

In May, I spent a week in Sicily with a team from Unicef taking photographs and interviewing those who have made the journey. In the island’s capital, Palermo, I met Peace, a 17-year-old Nigerian living in a shelter for girls. Peace traveled to Agadez, Niger, a waypoint where smugglers load migrants into crowded trucks to cross into Libya. “So many people died in the desert. We saw dead bodies, skeletons,” she said. Upon arriving in Libya, she was locked in a windowless room for six weeks. “There was no water, no changes of clothes, not enough food. There was fighting outside, I could hear shooting.” (Read more)

Foreigners can’t be jailed for illegal entry into EU countries

In March 2013, Selina Affum of Ghana was stopped by French police at the Channel Tunnel crossing to Britain on board a coach travelling from the Belgian city of Ghent to London. Affum presented a passport bearing another person’s name and photo. She was placed into custody for illegally entering France. But Affum challenged her treatment and a French court turned to the ECJ for advice on the legality of her imprisonment. The Luxembourg judges ruled that taking into custody a non-EU national only for illegal entry violates the bloc’s rules and undermines their effectiveness, since this delays procedures to send the person back to their country of origin or a country of transit. (Read more)

Nigeria: IOM Presents National Migration Policy to Govt

The International Organisation for Migrants (IOM) has officially presented the National Migration Policy (NMP) to the Federal Government. The NMP was presented to Margaret Essien, the Acting Federal Commissioner at the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) by IOM Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Enira Krdzalic. Development of the NMP started in 2006 and on May 13, 2015, the policy was adopted by the Federal Executive Council, the adoption of which is one of the key achievements of IOM’s ongoing national 10th European Union-funded project: Promoting Better Management of Migration in Nigeria. (Read more)

Mafia at a crossroads as Nigerian gangsters hit Sicily’s shores

“Even the Sicilian mafia has to deal with the wave of migration from Africa,” said Leonardo Agueci, Palermo’s deputy chief prosecutor. “The neighbourhoods under mafia control have changed profoundly in recent years due to the growing presence of foreigners, especially Nigerians coming on boats. Among them, there [are a small number] of people who want to transfer their illegal trafficking, linked to prostitution and drug dealing, to Sicily. And the mafia was quite happy to integrate them into their criminal business.” (Read more)

Niger: Migrants, Including Children, Found Dead in Niger Desert

The bodies of 34 migrants, including 20 children, have been found in the Niger desert near the Algerian border. They were abandoned by their smugglers. In a statement read on national television, the Niger government said the migrants died between June 6 and 12. (Read more)

Frontex Chief: 300,000 More Migrants Headed from Africa to Europe

The director of the agency for the control of the external borders of the European Union (EU) has predicted that as many as 300,000 new migrants will be heading up from sub-Saharan Africa into Europe, most of whom will attempt to reach Italy as first port of call. (Read more)